Speak Now
by boomzgleeks
Summary: Rachel finds herself at a wedding. Songfic to Taylor Swift's 'Speak Now', one-shot. Rated because I'm paranoid.


**Hey, it's Leanne. This is my one-shot written WITHOUT my co-writer, Carmen. Plot bunny danced into my head when I heard this song, and I just HAD to write this. Don't blame me if this isn't up to the standard of my other stories, this one was done without Carmen, the better writer!**

**Don't own Glee.**

**Minor character deaths, though not mentioned who. Lyrics are in italics, text message in underlined italics.  
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I am not the kind of girl_

_Who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion_

However aggressive and headstrong Rachel Berry was, she wouldn't be the type to interrupt a wedding. A somewhat happy one, at that. She loved weddings, they signified togetherness and unity.

_But you are not the kind of boy_

_Who should be marrying the wrong girl_

But Finn wasn't the kind of guy who would marry someone he didn't like. It could be just because Santana practically forced him to, and he didn't have much of a retaliation reflex, even though he was in the football team in high school.

_Nearly ten years ago._

_I sneak in and see your friends, and her snotty little family_

_All dressed in pastel_

_And she is yelling at a bridesmaid, somewhere back inside a room_

_Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry_

Rachel looks left and right, her sunglasses perched securely on the bridge of her nose. _Clear. _She hurries into the church, its white washed walls and tall steeple a gentle nudge back to reality – Finn was getting _married. _To _Santana. _She knew very well that he still loved her. Right? She creeps inconspicuously down the aisle, blending in easily with the uncharacteristic chaos within the holy place.

Puck is looking surprisingly neat in his pressed tuxedo, maybe even handsome. This was definitely a change from the usual jeans and random t-shirt, a sloppy getup compared to this. Next to him, Mike and Matt are laughing together, and Rachel swears she heard something along the lines of 'can't believe' and 'Finn married'. She even thinks she hears a piece 'thought he liked Rachel', and then dismisses the thought as a figment of her imagination. If only the tabloid and gossip magazines could see her now. "Rachel Berry, Broadway star, winner of two Tony awards, but single. We now know why!" The headline would read in neon letters blaring loudly at a poor unsuspecting soul who just wanted to read the papers, complete with a full blown colour photograph of her sneaking around at Finn's wedding.

Rachel spots Santana, a Latina couple and a smaller girl dressed in hues of light pink and green that made her want to throw up trailing behind her like Rachel's ever-present entourage back in New York. But this was Lima, and she wasn't Rachel Berry, Broadway star anymore. She was just Rachel, a young woman pining away after her first boyfriend who was getting married to someone that was not her. Santana is screaming more vulgarities and profanities that Rachel suspected Puck even knew, at a poor blonde standing in a half-exposed room behind the stage curtain. Rachel realises that that is Brittany, from Glee club in high school, Santana's former best friend. Brittany, wearing a light blue short-cut dress, is close to tears as the bridesmaid's tiger lilies droop depressingly in her hand.

_This is surely not what you thought it would be_

_I lose myself in a daydream where I stand and say_

_Don't say yes, run away now_

_I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the backdoor_

_Don't wait or say a single vow_

_You need to hear me out and they said speak now_

Rachel wishes, with all her might that she would gather up the courage to stand up from her seat at the side of the bench. The priest would ask her to say what she needed to say, now. She would proclaim her love to Finn, and ask him to elope with her, in front of a shocked audience and a furious Santana. Finn wouldn't say a word, just run away and take her hand at the backdoor. Then, they would get into her Mercedes (no pun intended), and drive back to New York to live happily ever after.

She wished.

_Fun gestures are exchanged_

_And the organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march_

_And I am hiding in the curtains_

_It seems that I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be_

The audience quietens down, all shuffling back to their seats as makeup is touched up, dresses straightened, and ties guided back into place. Rachel realises that she cannot sit on the bench anymore as an angry looking old man is making his way towards her, shaking his fist at her in an attempt to shoo her off his seat.

Whoops.

She surreptitiously lopes over to the stage curtains, quick as lightning. The colour of her trench coat, a little overboard on the whole spy-on-Finn matter, is almost exactly the same as the fabric draping over her as she coils her slim body into the furry material. Rachel can see the procedure perfectly from her hiding place. Oh well, her luck that Santana had ostracized and bullied her back in high school, so there was no chance that Rachel would be invited to the ex-cheerleader's wedding, especially when the groom was Rachel's ex-boyfriend.

The middle-aged man scowls sullenly at the rusty organ as an off-tune version of 'Amazing Grace' begins to play. Even while in such a plight, Rachel cannot help but grimace. This was a disgrace to Lima! They should have gotten Glee club 2009 to perform instead. Rachel smacks her forehead mentally as she remembers the tragic accident killing two glee club members about three years ago. Now, this man's version of 'Amazing Grace' sounded like a pitiful rendition of the death march played at their funeral. She shakes her head, clearing the memory from her mind, afraid to break down into tears.

_She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen_

_But I know you wish it was me, you wish it was me_

_Don't you?_

Rachel turns her attention to the bride. Santana prances down the aisle, one hand linked with her father's, the other planted stylishly on her hip. She watches, just watches, as Finn turns around, looking at Santana. Rachel knows, deep in her heart, that Finn still loves her. Rachel can see Finn imagining his bride-to-be was Rachel, in that same gaudy getup but somehow prettier than Santana.

Can't she?

_I hear the preacher say speak now or forever hold your peace_

_There's the silence, there's my last chance_

_I stand up with shaking hands, all eyes on me_

_Horrified looks from everyone in the room_

_But I'm only looking at you_

Rachel r**-**eveals herself suddenly, a rash move. All eyes are on her, curious as to who she is and what she is doing there. The preacher raises a grey eyebrow at her expectantly and nods at her, as if telling her to speak now, right there and then, or to forever hold her peace. Thousands of pairs of eyes are fixed on her, amber coloured ones, deep ocean blue ones, as everybody holds their breath. Rachel takes a deep breath, straightening up and urging every ounce of courage in the world to suddenly appear in her.

Santana stops mid-step, eyes narrowing as she glares contemptuously at Rachel, mouth slightly curled into the malevolent snarl Rachel had seen every day back in high school. Something else was there, though. Rachel thought that there was, somehow, a tiny smile ghosting across the Latina's tanned face. Mike and Matt are staring at her, mouths wide open like goldfish as Puck whispers something under his breath, seemingly cursing. But all Rachel knows is Finn, Finn, and Finn.

_And you say let's run away now_

_I'll meet when I'm out of my tux at the backdoor_

_Baby I didn't say my vows, so glad you were around_

_When they said 'Speak now'_

Rachel opens her mouth, but all that manages to come out is a sad imitation of a disembodied squeak. She doesn't have to say anything else, because there Finn is, hurtling down the aisle and out the door. A burst of adrenaline surges through Rachel, as she begins to sprint away from the horrified stares, away from the surprised looks. He takes her hand as they dash far, far away from the small church and towards Rachel's Land Rover. Finn doesn't say anything still, just smiles at her. She knows he's thinking what she is: so glad he didn't say his vow, so glad she showed herself.

The strange couple, Rachel in her brown trench coat with Finn in his groom's tuxedo, slip into their respective car seats easily as if they'd done this their whole lives. Finn grips the steering wheel as they drive away, kissing the town goodbye along with all the Lima losers, and preparing themselves once again for New York, Rachel's stage. Rachel smiles to herself softly as her phone buzzes faintly.

_Thanks for saving me from the evil clutches of marriage that the parents forced me into. Atta girl, B! –Santana xx._

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_**Review if you want. You can also check out my other stories if you wish. (:**

**-Lea (Funny, right?)**_  
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